


Booth & Brennan's Guiding Hand to the Lovelorn

by mphs95



Series: Bonesology Challenges [4]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Bonesology 2016 Valentine's Day Challenge, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-18 18:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5938009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mphs95/pseuds/mphs95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rynogeny's Valentine's Day present for the 2016 Bonesology Valentine's Day Challenge.  She requested the following:</p>
<p>Characters I wish for: 1 - 3 characters, B&B, any of the others, really<br/>Please include: 1 - 3 elements: romance or friendship<br/>Please exclude: 1- 3 elements: mean tension/conflict among the team, death or violence against any of them<br/>Maximum rating: any </p>
<p>I've always felt that Booth and Brennan's trail that they blazed could inspire others down the line, but what if there are two people who are in danger of making the same mistakes B & B did?  How does our supercouple assist the younger duo to get back on the right path?  Read this four chapter story and find out.</p>
<p>Rynogeny, I hope this is a nice gift for you.  I want to give a story as awesome as the one I got from MoreBonesPlz....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Booth & Brennan On The Case

          The morning of February 11th was sunny and looked to be another typical day in the Booth-Brennan house.

            _Well almost._

* * *

 

            Brennan was rinsing the breakfast dishes in the sink.  “Come on Booth….give me a hint!  I think I deserve it since Cam and I have to meet with the Board of Directors today for the tentative budget for the next fiscal year.”

            Booth looked up from his newspaper and laughed.  “I hate budget meetings, too, but no, Bones.  You get to wait until tomorrow.”

            “Does anyone else know?” Brennan asked.  Seeing’s Booth’s smirk, she turned and saw Christine giggle.  Turning back to her husband, she asked, “You told our daughter?”

            “No, but she was home when I bought it.” 

            Brennan smiled as a plan came together in her head.  “I’ll tell you what I got you.”

            Booth smiled back.  “Okay, you tell me and I’ll tell you.”

            “Agreed.”  Brennan said.  “I got you season tickets to see your Philadelphia Whosits.”

            Booth smiled, knowing the truth.  “No, you didn’t, Bones.”

            Brennan stammered in shock.  “Y-yes I did.”

            “No, you didn’t because to use them I would have to drive three hours away and let’s face it, Bones.  You can’t stand to be away from me for that long.”  Booth said with a wide smile.

            “Confident, aren’t we?”  Brennan said while squinting her eyes.

             “But what I will tell you is your gift…it’s not here and it's something that only you could love.”

            “Daddy, do I get a Valentine’s Day gift?”  Christine said.

            Booth got up and picked up his daughter.  “Of course you do, Monkey!  You get it before you and Hank spend the weekend with Grandpa Max!”

            “Yay!”  Christine said.

            “Christine.  Time to brush your teeth before preschool.” Brennan said as she saw the time on the clock.

            “Okay.”  Christine said as Booth put her down before she ran into the bathroom.

            “A weekend together without the kids, huh?”  Brennan said as she smirked at her husband.  "This present of yours must be very good.  Tell me, Booth."  She asked before reaching up and nibbling his neck.

            “Whoa, Bones.  Nice try, but nope, you will have to wait and--” Booth started before being interrupted by his phone and his wife’s ringing simultaneously.  “Booth.”

            “Brennan.” The anthropologist said answering hers.

            Booth nodded.  “West Virginia, huh?  All right, Aubrey.  I'll be on my way after I take Christine to school.”

            Brennan listened to her call.  “Okay, Cam.  I will be there as soon as I can.”

            Both hang up their phones.  “Well, duty calls.” Booth said.  

            “Since you have Christine, I’ll drop Hank off at the daycare and see you at the scene.”  Brennan said before kissing her husband.

            “Love you.”  He said.

            “Love you, too.”  Brennan said in return. “So what are you getting me?”

            “Are you going to tell me my real present?”  Booth asked.  When he saw his wife bite her lip, he smiled.  "That's what I thought, but I don't mind waiting until tomorrow, like you will."

            “This isn’t over, Booth.”  Brennan said with a challenge in her voice.

            “I hope it never is.”  Her husband said as he looked at the woman he loved with reverence, which was returned by Brennan.  They gazed at each other for a minute before the moment was broken.

            _“My teeth are clean, Mommy!”_

            “Good girl, Christine.”  Brennan said before turning to Booth.  “I’ll go get Hank ready.”

            “Okay, Monkey, time for preschool.”  Booth said as he followed his wife.

* * *

            Booth and Aubrey walked into the lab at 12:30 PM, each carrying a bag from the diner, while the senior agent carried a drink carrier with two Styrofoam cups.   Booth watched with amusement as Aubrey searched the lab.  “I do appreciate the help carrying in these bags, Aubrey, but you could have waited in the truck.  I’m just bringing lunch to Bones and Cam before their meeting at 1:00.”  

            “Hey, not a problem.  Besides, I like checking this place out.  It’s so cool.”  Aubrey said he continued to look around.

            _‘You mean Jessica is so cool.’_ Booth thought while attempting to not laugh at the other agent’s obvious search for the intern.   When he saw his wife coming down the platform, he called out, “Hey Bones.”

            Brennan kissed her husband as she took the bags and coffee from the two agents.  “Thank you for picking us up lunch, Booth.  You got the salad—“

            “With no olives and vegetable soup.  That bag has Cam’s tuna melt and fruit salad.”

            Brennan saw Aubrey standing on his toes up at the platform.  “Aubrey, can I help you with something?”

            Startled, he turned to the couple.  “Nope, just checking things out.  Hey, while we’re here, is there an update on the case?”

            The anthropologist looked at him dumbfounded.  “Angela called you an hour ago with the ID of the victim and there’s nothing new.  We always call--“

            Booth jumped in, unable to hide his smirk.  “I mentioned to him that that Jessica was working today and you know how Aubrey likes to take a hands on approach with our cases.”  

            The younger agent blushed and Brennan realized what her husband was saying.  “Ooooohhh.  Well, I do think Ms. Warren should be returning from her lunch break.  Oh here she comes now with Doctor Fuentes.”

            The three turned as Jessica came down the stairs followed by the man Caroline always called _“The Cute Cuban”_ , both laughing in an animated conversation.  When they got to the bottom, they heard Jessica saying, “No way!” before Rodolfo nodded and grabbed her hand to kiss it in an exaggerated manner.  The redhead responded by laughing harder.

            “If it’s okay with you, Booth, I’ll just wait for you outside.” Aubrey said in a strained tone.  Booth and Brennan didn’t miss Aubrey’s fists clenched and his lips pursing together in annoyance. 

            “Aubrey, aren’t you going to talk to my intern about the case?” The anthropologist asked.

             “You know, on second thought, I can be a bit more patient and wait for a phone call.  The lab is the best in the country after all, so I shouldn’t be breathing down your neck.” He replied as he looked at the two interns one more time before walking out.

             Booth saw that perhaps it would be a good time to leave, so kissed Brennan goodbye.  “You’re getting Hank from day care tonight?”

            “Yes.  Dad just sent a text saying he could pick up Christine from school if you were busy.”

            “That’s fine.  I’ll just send a text for him to drop her off before dinner.  So, the monkey and I will meet you and the little man at home later.  Love you.”

            “Love you, too.” She said before they had one more kiss and parted.

            Brennan watched as her husband followed Aubrey out the door.  Looking over towards the Bone Room, she saw Doctor Fuentes walk away and Jessica walk to the platform to start cleaning the bones.  She wanted to talk to her, but she knew her time to eat, as well as Cam’s, was limited.  Reluctantly, she headed to Cam’s autopsy room.

* * *

            Three hours later, Booth was going through the bullpen towards his office.  “So you’re sending Jessica here on an errand here so she can see Aubrey?”

            _“Yes, Booth.  After my meeting concluded, I examined the remains with Ms. Warren and I brought him up subtly in our conversation after seeing how detailed and through she was in her work, which I know means she’s emotionally unstable. Apparently, Angela told her you two were here earlier and was upset that she missed him.  So, I decided to give her a file to take over to the FBI that I said you needed immediately.  Of course, she’ll give you the folder.  When done, she’ll go visit Aubrey and engage in conversation like when you would visit me all the time at the lab.  I think I’m getting pretty good at my people skills.”_

            Booth stopped at an agent’s desk to examine something.  “That’s pretty clever, Bones.  God only knows Aubrey has gone to the lab enough just to see Jessica.”

            _“Your God has nothing to do with this, Booth.”_

            “I meant that—never mind, Bones.” Booth replied.  “So what’s in the file?”

            _“Pictures of lingerie._ _I want to know what may interest you for Valentine’s Day since Hank and Christine will be with Dad this weekend.  Can’t you even give me a hint on what my present is?”_

           “No, you have to wait until tomorrow.  As for the other thing, you’re beautiful in anything you wear.”  Booth looked around the bullpen before speaking quietly.  “However, seeing you in nothing is what interests me most of all, especially your awesome rack--hey, I see her heading to my office now.  I’ll just head over—uh oh.”

            _“What’s wrong, Booth?”_

            Booth watched as Jessica, not seeing him in his office, turned around and spotted Aubrey and Karen Delfs come out of the elevator laughing and smiling.  He observed the analyst looking over at his office before she put her hand on Aubrey’s arm and caressed it.  He observed the agent look visibly uncomfortable, but it was too late as he saw the young anthropologist turn paler than usual and her lips tremble.

            “Your plan just took a shit, Bones.  I’ll call you later.  Love you.”  Booth said before hanging up and walked quickly to his office. 

            “Hey, Jessica.  Bones told me you were coming.  Here, come into my office for a moment.”

            “But—“ A tearful Jessica started to say before being pushed into the office.

            “Sit in here and wait for me.  Do not leave or I have you arrested.”  He grabbed a box of tissue and gave it to her before taking the file.  “Here’s some Kleenex so you can cry.  Stay here!”

            Before the upset girl could respond, Booth walked out towards the two and heard what they were talking about.

            “So I do owe you a bacon triple cheeseburger.  How about tonight, Agent Aubrey?” Karen asked before putting her hand on his shoulder.

            “Ah—“ Aubrey replied awkwardly while backing away from the analyst’s hand.

            “He’s busy tonight.”  Booth interrupted before pointing to Aubrey.  “You, coffee room.  Wait for me.”

            “Booth!  What—“

            “Now, Aubrey!”

            Booth didn’t miss the younger agent rolling his eyes as he walked away.  When Aubrey was out of earshot, he turned his focus to the other person.  “Okay Ms. Delfs.  I know you saw Jessica Warren by my office before you played touchy feely with my agent.  I know you’ve met her before and she’s one that stands out in a crowd so don’t deny it.  ”

            “Agent Booth, I don’t—“

            “Drop the innocent scatterbrain act.  He’s in love with someone else, but too stupid to admit it.  Don’t pull another stunt with these two.  If you do, I’ll pay a visit to Jacob Tanner, the new head of your unit and tell him how disruptive your presence is with one of my agents.”

            “You wouldn’t, Agent.”

            Booth took one step closer.  “Jake and I graduated from Quantico together and I can call him anytime to shoot the shit.  While I’m doing that, I can put a bug in his ear about a certain profiler who has difficulties being professional in my division and my concerns of how it could affect our cases.  That could result in the profiler’s clearance here rescinded and/or a transfer.  Not a good thing to have in his or her jacket, now is it?”

            After she inhaled once, she walked to the elevator and got on.  Turning around, she itched the side of her nose with her middle finger in his sight.  Booth’s only response was just to hold up his fist with a similar gesture and laugh, making her jaw drop as the doors closed.  Ready for confrontation number two, he walked in to see a fuming Aubrey.

            “What the hell, Booth?  What are you, my dad?”

            “No, just someone who cares about your stupid butt.  Why were you letting her flirt with you?  You’re in love with Jessica.”

            “I was not flirting with Karen.  She just touched my shoulder and arm and I didn’t ask for it.”  Aubrey protested.  “As for Jessica, it doesn’t matter if I’m in love with her or not because apparently, she seems to like foreigners.”

            Booth shook his head.  “You’re an idiot, Aubrey.”

            “Excuse me?”  The younger man retorted.

            “Jessica is crazy about you and if you weren’t busy being insecure about her talking to another squint, you may remember that.”

            “Hey, I’ve heard about how before you and Doctor B got together, you would stare down or threaten any guy that even looked at her.  Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?”

            “Yeah, I did that because I was in love with her, Dumbass, just like you’re in love with Jessica.  You two may have something if you stop acting like an insecure ass.”

            “I am not--whatever, Booth.”

            Suddenly, a light bulb went off.  After saying a prayer, he opened the folder, wrote a small note in the cover and closed it.  Grabbing Aubrey’s empty interdepartmental envelope, he slid the folder in it.  “Here, run this to Bones at the Jeffersonian.”

            “Now?”

            “No, next week.”  Booth replied sarcastically.  “Yes, now.  Go on.  Shoo.”

            Aubrey made a face before he headed to the elevator.  When he was gone, Booth called Brennan.  “Bones, it’s me.  I’m sending Aubrey your way.”

            After explaining what his plan was, he headed to his office where a red-eyed Jessica was blowing her nose.  “Hey, how about a cup of coffee?”

            The young woman sniffled as he wiped her nose.  “Aubrey said the coffee here is terrible.”

            “It is.  That’s why we’re going down to the coffee cart outside.  Come on.”

            “Can I have catnip tea?  Aubrey always gets it for me from there.”  Jessica asked.

            “Sure.” Booth said while holding the door open for her. 

            When she walked out, he grabbed his coat and followed her with a disgusted look on his face.  “Catnip tea?” he mouthed to himself.


	2. Booth Gives Experience With a Cat Tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has Booth & Jessica's conversation and the next will be Brennan & Aubrey's turn. Hope you enjoy, especially Rynogeny.

            At the coffee cart outside the Hoover, Jessica and Booth got their beverages before the agent paid.  Finding a bench, the two walked to it and sat down where the two enjoyed their drinks in silence.

            After a few minutes, Jessica spoke up.  “Agent Booth, I really appreciate the tea and trying to make me feel better, but I need to get back to work.  Doctor Brennan is probably wondering what is taking me so long.”

            The agent grabbed her arm as she stood up.  “Sit down, Jessica.  Bones isn’t concerned about how long we are together.”

            “Why?”  Jessica asked.  “As her intern, it’s my job to assist her.”

            “Bones said she was all set when I told her that I was sending Aubrey over to talk to her.  He needs a chat as much as you do right now.”

            Jessica stood there in shock.  “Doctor B is talking to Aubrey…now?”

            “Yeah, she is.”

            The anthropologist covered her face for a moment.  “Oh, this is so embarrassing.  Listen, I know you mean well, but our personal lives are of no one’s concerns but our own.  Excuse me.”

            Jessica took one step away when Booth stood up.  “Sit down young lady or else I’ll arrange to have Aubrey transferred to Reno or Miami.”

            Jessica’s eyes bulged.  “Agent Booth!  You know he hates being around gaudy rich people and all that touristy crap!”

            “I know.”  Booth said before he softened his tone.  “Now sit and drink this cat tea so that the $4.25 I spent isn’t wasted, please?”

            “Catnip tea.” The redhead corrected. 

            “Whatever.  Please sit down.”  When she lowered herself back to the bench, he smiled.  “Thank you.  Now about when you stopped by earlier, it wasn’t what you thought it was.”

            Jessica’s large eyes laser focused on the older man.  “It looked like someone Aubrey works with was groping him.”

            “Yeah, but he wasn’t into it.  Did you see his face?  It was almost like the one from when he visited his first crime scene with me.  He’s not into her, Jessica.”

            “Well, she seems to be into him.  Of course, what woman wouldn’t be?”

            “My wife for one.  Booth said.  “But that’s not the point.  My point is that he was at the lab today to see you, but he got jealous when you were laughing with that Cuban squint.”

            “He got upset when I talking with Rodolfo?”  Jessica replied incredulously.  “He was only telling me what happened this weekend.  He and his girlfriend, who also works in the lab, saw a play.  Afterwards, they were waiting for autographs and some weirdo kissed her hand and flirted with her while he was standing there.  They were laughing about it afterwards.  Yeah, he flirts with women, but it’s harmless.  He adores Stacey.”

            “Well, to him you two were looking…friendly.”  Booth said honestly.

            “I don’t understand why he would be so jealous.”

            Booth shook his head at the woman’s denseness.  “Because he’s crazy about you, Jessica.”

            “He is?”  The redhead said.  She knew he liked her and they were dating casually, but she didn’t push for more, afraid to drive him away.

            “Yeah, he is.  I remember after he met you at the lab during the Hayes Robertson case, he called you _‘that cute squint.’_ ”

            “He did?”  Jessica asked while blushing as she remembered that day.  She almost ran him over as she rushed into Angela’s office with the cause of death thanks to Aubrey’s video of the actors on the game stage.  Immediately she was drawn to his cute smile and blue eyes. 

            Booth’s voice brought her back to reality. 

            “Do you have any idea how much gas Aubrey has wasted driving to the Jeffersonian for updates when he knows you’re working?  Any case of ours you’re assisting on, I know where to find Aubrey if he’s not at the Hoover.”

            “Wow…I knew that he was a hands on agent, but—“

            “Jessica,” Booth said before putting his hand on hers.  “Aubrey’s in love with you.  Everyone can see it.”

            “Everyone?”

            “Our friends at the Jeffersonian…Caroline…even that twit Karen Delfs.  Why else do you think she touched him after she saw you standing by my office?”

            “How do you know that?”

            “I was standing in the bullpen talking to Bones on the phone and got to see it all.  She obviously sees you as a threat, Jessica, but when it comes to Aubrey, you shouldn’t be threatened by anybody.”

            Booth smiled when he saw the redhead blush again.  “Jessica, I know he’s in love with you because I’ve watched you steal his food and he doesn’t say a word, but with anyone else he acts like someone is trying to murder him.  He still goes on and on about when K—someone stole his bacon cheeseburger.”

            Jessica smiled.  “I know it was Karen, Agent Booth.  It’s okay.  Besides, food always tastes better from Superman’s plate.”

            Booth laughed.  “That’s what Bones always says when she eats my fries at the diner.  Interesting that you say the same thing.”

            Jessica smiled.  “It’s true.”

            “Bones is the only person, well besides Christine, Parker, and Hank, that gets to steal my food.  Just like Aubrey letting you eat his food means love because with anyone else, that man guards his food like a Great Dane.”

            Jessica pondered what she heard for a minute.  “Maybe it does mean love, but what if I hold him back sometimes because I did stupid things when I was younger or that he may prefer someone who doesn’t have tattoos or more tact?”

            Booth listened to the young woman and while he believed her concerns were valid at one time, he didn’t believe it for a minute now.  However, the agent knew that like with a suspect, sometimes you have to peel the onion one layer at a time to get the real story. 

            “Jessica, everyone does stupid crap when they were younger, including my wife.  Second, has Aubrey said anything about your past since the Rick O’Malley case?  Does he make any comments about how his dreams of politics are done because you’re in his life?  As for the tact, do you and I know the same James Aubrey?  Tact and Aubrey are two things that do not go together.”

            The redhead chuckled before she drank her tea.  “When it comes to bluntness and honesty, Aubrey is Aubrey and I love it about him.  As for since the senator’s murder, he hasn’t brought it up at all.  He’s like he has always been, fun, caring, easy to talk and listen to.  Whenever we go out, he always tells me how pretty I look, holds doors for me…pulls out my chair.  He doesn’t get intimidated by the fact I’m in Mensa or that my IQ is 168.  Most of all, he actually takes me seriously unlike most people in my life.”

            “That’s a good thing, Jessica.”

            “But don’t you see, Agent Booth?  The day will go there when we will have to decide about our future.  He’s got these plans of being a Senator and you need to be a certain type to fit in with those people in Washington.  People seem to want perfect gods in office without flaws….”

            Booth watched the forensic anthropologist take another drink and grip the cup. 

            “…I have flaws, Agent Booth.  I have a past.  I mean we have a lot in common, but we also have a lot of differences.  I’m realizing that perhaps the idea of Aubrey and me…it may be impossible.  He may need someone better than me.”

            “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

            “E-excuse me?”

            “That’s not it at all.  I don’t buy that _‘I’m not good enough for him’_ crap for a second, Jessica.  Now, why are you really scared?”

            “I’m not scared.  I don’t get scared…ever.”

            “Really.  So nothing about my agent scares you in the slightest?”  Booth challenged.

             “No!  Aubrey doesn’t scare me at all!  I’m not scared that he has a dangerous job as an FBI agent.  I’m not scared that he has to carry a gun.  I didn’t even get scared when I sat at the hospital for six hours waiting to hear if Aubrey was going to live or die.  I didn’t have time to be scared, Agent Booth because I was so….pissed at him!  Of course, I was even angrier when he went AMA at the hospital and made his skinny ass a target for a bomber!  Oh, I let him have it that night, big time!”

            _‘Bingo!’_   Booth realized.  “Yeah, I’m sure you did, because you were terrified that if Aubrey died, you would never see him again.”

            “Of course losing him would devastate me.  He’s my best friend.”

            Booth got closer.  “Let me rephrase that.  You realized that night that you were in love with Aubrey and it scared the living shit out of you.  Knowing that, you’re afraid that if you admit it, you’ll feel that vulnerable again…terrified, but most of all, that feeling of emptiness where a piece of you is gone forever and you’re left behind.”

            Jessica’s already large eyes got even larger before a lone tear escaped.  Wiping it away, she responded with, “I can’t lose my best friend, Agent Booth.  Maybe we need to just tread more carefully with things, maybe take things slower.”

            “Bullshit, Jessica.  Staying as you are will only guarantee that your friendship will die, as will a part of each of you.”

            Jessica pulled back at the agent’s harsh words.  “Well, excuse me, Agent Booth for trying to be careful with Aubrey.  I’ve never felt this way before and the monogamy slash long term thing is a new thing for me.  Not all of us are as perfect as you and Doctor B.”

            Booth was flabbergasted at the young woman, but remembered that she wasn’t around during the battle he and Brennan fought all those years ago.  It was not one he wanted to relive, but maybe it was what was needed to push these two forward.

            “Is that what you think, Jessica?  That the two of us just snapped our fingers and boom, we’re together?  No.  We fought it for years with our fears of losing the other by pushing too soon, insecurities, fear of abandonment, among other things I won’t go into here.  Eventually, I pushed it at the wrong time because I let myself get goaded by Sweets to tell her to take a chance on me right over there.”  He said pointing at the spot where they had that awful conversation years earlier.

            Booth looked and saw that he had the woman’s attention, so he pulled his hand back.  “Instead of us coming together, she freaked out saying I needed protection from her.  We remained partners, but instead of talking to each other, we talked at each other.  We took off to opposite sides of the world for a while.  Several months later, we came back home and saw each other again as the group worked to solve a case.  Instead of having the balls to tell her what I should have originally told her, which is I was in love with her and I would wait as long as she needed to, I bragged about the woman I met in Afghanistan.  When Hannah came to the States a week later, I did everything I could to be this perfect boyfriend for this perfect relationship, determined to ensure that she was _‘the one’,_ even if I had to push Bones away to do it.”

            Booth collected himself before delving further.  “There was a case that we had…it connected with her in a way that she was scaring the squints…and me, so I tailed her without telling anyone.  One night, she was…she was almost hit by a car, but I pushed her out of the way. After making sure she was okay, we got into my truck to take her home.  That’s when she said…she told me she didn’t want any regrets.”

            Jessica was silent as Booth processed his thoughts.  “I-I knew what she was trying to say, but I felt…hurt…pissed off at her crappy timing because I was in a relationship at the time that I was determined to see through.  I didn’t want to hurt anymore, so I told her Hannah wasn’t a consolation prize when she really was.”

            Booth inhaled.  “Bones wasn’t trying to hurt me, Jessica.  She was being honest, like she usually is.  With her, she processes things differently and only wanted me to know and it was something I had forgot for a while as I was all caught up in my own frustrations.”

            Jessica sat stunned as she had no idea of the struggles the agent and her mentor went through.  They seemed so perfect together.  “So, um, what happened?”

            Booth tossed his cup in the garbage nearby.  “You have to understand something.  I made a commitment to Hannah and at the time, things were good.  I mean, the woman requested a transfer state side from Afghanistan so she could be with me, while Bones took off to the other side of the world.  So I was justified in the decision I made, or so I thought.”

          He inhaled before continuing. "One night, Sweets and I got drunk and we decided to propose to Daisy and Hannah. I bought this very expensive ring, had it insured, made things all romantic. I proposed, but Hannah said no, saying that she wasn't the marrying kind, something that she had told me before, quite bluntly. However, I heard and saw what I wanted to hear, which was that we had a lot of fun together and that she took the time to get to know Parker, ignoring the fact that she only brought a few suitcases when she moved in with me and that her job was her top priority, not us. When she wanted to go back to where we were before, I got even more pissed off, so I broke up with her and asked her to move out that night."

            “Wow.”  Was all Jessica could say before the FBI agent continued to speak.

            “Hannah called Bones, who found me drunk at Founding Fathers.  When she asked how I was, I went off on why women didn’t appreciate what I had offered and how I was mad at all of the women I had loved.  I said to her she had to be my partner and drink with me or I’d find her a new partner at the FBI.”

            “What did Doctor B do?”  The woman asked in a small voice.

            “She stayed and she drank with no hesitation, or any that I could see.  A few days later was Valentine’s Day, so she got Tommy guns from the Jeffersonian and we went to the range where we celebrated the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre with shooting stuff.  It was…it was just what I needed.  Bones always seemed to know what that was for me.  No one really ever had until her.”

            Jessica said nothing, Booth’s last words resonating as she thought of Aubrey and how the junior agent always seemed to know when she desired comfort, laughter, friendship, or whatever she needed.

            “Looking back now, I was always in love with Bones.  Being with Hannah let me run away from that for a while, but once Bones told me how she felt, deep down I knew that my relationship was over.  I was a douchebag for putting it in Hannah’s court, but she did me a favor by turning me down.”

            Booth could see the young woman was playing with her cup.  Knowing there was more to say, he continued.  “It took a while, but after she left, my friendship with Bones started to piece back together, but it was fragile, you know.”

            “How did you overcome all that to where you could be honest with one another?”

            Booth wiped his face.  “One day, we got stuck in an elevator during a blizzard here in Washington.  Left with no other choice, we finally had to lay our cards on the table and be honest with one another.  It was hard and awkward, but the more we talked, the easier it got and we decided that a future would be there…someday.  Of course, things went back to normal, but even though we made that commitment, Bones and I each held that last part back from each other.”

            “But why?”  Jessica asked.

            “We wanted to be together, but Bones and I were afraid of pushing the other before they were ready and breaking things for good.”

            Jessica thought about what he said for a moment.  “Agent Booth, how did you decide to finally get past all that to be together?”

             Booth considered his words carefully.  “We didn’t.  Jacob Broadsky and Vincent Nigel-Murray made the decision for us.”

            Jessica listened as Booth proceeded to tell her all about the case, including the intern’s death and an edited version of how he and Brennan finally got together.

            “Later that morning, with Agent Shaw’s help, I tracked Broadsky to Wilmington, where the squint’s info about Jake’s broken hand helped me narrow down his location and arrest him.  That night, we as a group honored Vincent by loading his casket into the hearse and sang _‘Coconut’_ since it was his favorite song.  Six weeks later, we found out Christine was on the way. 

            “Wow… I can’t believe this guy thought of an innocent person dying as ‘ _collateral damage’_.  It’s so cold.”  Jessica said in a sad tone.

            “My point Jessica, is that it took a kid dying for us to finally stop being scared.  We wasted years being afraid.  Yes, Bones and I got out on the better end, but we got lucky, kid, because people don’t always get second chances.

            “Wow.”  Jessica replied, unable to come up with anything better as she wiped a tear away.  “I-I don’t know what to say.”

            Booth grabbed a handkerchief and handed it to the anthropologist.  “Say you two aren’t going to waste years like we did and get my agent out of his misery by telling him how you feel.  Go plan something for Valentine’s Day this weekend other than watching television or playing video games.”

            Jessica wiped the last tear away and smiled.  “Okay.”

            Booth smiled back.  “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

            Getting up, Jessica followed Booth to the door, where he opened it for her and both walked in.


	3. Brennan Sets Aubrey Straight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it's Brennan's turn.....

            A short time later, a calmed down Aubrey arrived at the Jeffersonian and found the good doctor in her office. “Hi, Doctor B.  Booth said it was very important I get this to you ASAP.”

            Brennan got up and took the envelope from the younger agent.  “Thank you, Aubrey.  Please have a seat.”  After opening it, she smiled before setting it on the desk.  “I’m glad Ms. Warren was so prompt in getting this to him.”

            The agent’s ears perked up as he sat down.  “Jessica?  She was at the Hoover?”

            “Yes.  She was frustrated that she missed you earlier, so I had asked her to bring this to Booth so she could visit you for a few minutes.”

            Aubrey got a sinking feeling in his stomach.  “I-I must have just missed her.  When was she there?”

            Brennan responded as only the anthropologist could.  “Well, Ms. Warren saw you while that soft science woman was touching you outside the elevator.  Booth said she was quite upset, so he’s talking to her now.  He sent you over to talk to me because he said you two need an intervention.”

            Brennan was pleased to see the young agent’s face look ashen.  Suddenly, his eyes got large as he seemed to realize all that she said.  “An intervention?  For what?  I’m not an addict.”

            “No, you’re not, but Booth said you were acting like a jealous dumbass.  He wanted me to talk to you and he would do the same with my intern.”

             Aubrey stood up, feeling momentarily insulted.  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Doctor B, but Jessica and I can work things out just fine by ourselves.”

            Brennan was nonplussed.  “Things like how you and Jessica are not an official couple, but yet you both exhibit signs of jealousy if a person of the opposite sex approaches you or her?”  Brennan asked.

            Aubrey was taken aback for a moment before recovering his composure.  “Um, I do appreciate where you are coming from, but that is the business of myself and Jessica.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the Hoover.”

            Desperate, Brennan reacted quickly.  “Sit down James Aubrey or I’ll fire Ms. Warren!”

             “You wouldn’t fi—“ Aubrey said in a knowing tone as he turned around, but was stopped by the woman’s stone face.  “Holy crap!  You would.”

            Brennan had no intention of firing her intern as Jessica Warren was one of the most gifted forensic anthropologists she had ever taught.  However, the agent didn’t know that. 

            “Over 300 graduate students apply to be an intern in our lab every year, Aubrey, so yes, I would.  Now sit down.”  Brennan said as she was lecturing one of her classes.  “We have Ms. W--Jessica and your jealous ass to discuss.”

            “I was not jealous of her talking to that Cuban guy.”  Aubrey said with a smile that dropped before gulping at Brennan’s professorial face giving him the stink eye.  “Okay, maybe a little.” 

            Brennan only continued to give Aubrey the bad student stare with her arms crossed and he finally faltered.  “Fine!  Fine!  I didn’t like seeing him kiss her hand!  I don’t want anyone else to kiss her except me!”

            The anthropologist smiled.  “Thank you.”

            “So, um…what happened at the FBI?”  Aubrey asked, dreading the answer.

            Brennan explained everything that Booth saw in the bullpen, each word unsettling Aubrey’s stomach more until he was one step away from vomiting.  Usually, he could chalk this up to low blood sugar, but no amount of food, even Santa Maria style barbeque could make this go away.  “She cried, Doctor B?”

            “Yes, according to Booth, she did when she saw you with Ms. Delfs.”  Brennan said.  “He had also saw that the BRIU analyst had seen my intern looking your way before she groped your upper body parts.”

            “Oh, crap…”  Aubrey muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

            “There’s more.  After dismissing you, Booth explained to Ms. Delfs that if she did anything that would jeopardize your relationship with Ms. Warren that he would report her to the head of the BRIU unit for inappropriate conduct in his division.  I know he and Jake Tanner sometimes have a drink at Founding Fathers to… _’shoot the shit?_ ’.  I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot feces, though with friends.”

            “It means…never mind, Doctor B.”  Aubrey said, anxious to hear about Jessica.  “What happened next?”

            “He sent the annoying woman on her way and I’m assuming gave you a lecture before you came here.  Right now, he’s talking to my intern over coffee.”

            “Please say he didn’t give her the crappy coffee on the floor.  She likes the catnip tea from the cart outside.”

            “I am assuming that is where they went for privacy since she was crying about you.”

            Aubrey’s eyes went to the floor and his hands.  “I-I didn’t realize….”

            “I know that my social skills are still rudimentary at best, but even I can see that she really cares for you, Aubrey.  Why do you think I had her call you during the senator’s murder case in November with what he ate?”

            Aubrey gave her a strange face.  “Because that’s what his last meal was?”

            “Yes, but after she did an exceptional job reassembling Rick O’Malley’s skull in record time, Ms. Warren said her speed was due to feeling emotionally unstable.”

            Brennan held up her hand.  “I must give credit where credit is due as it was Angela who figured things out first.  She encouraged her to remain open to the possibility of a relationship that went past friendship and into dating and sexual intercourse, even though the odds of success were in the negative.”

            “What—“

            “It was then that I realized that Angela and my intern were talking about you, so I had encouraged her to call you because you were familiar with all the restaurants in the area.  I found out later about the conversation you two had in the Bone Room about the background check Caroline ordered, so I figured out why she was so emotionally unstable earlier.  Also, I think you two make a nice couple.”

            Aubrey gave a side grin.  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Doctor B, but when I had asked her to go to the Indonesian restaurant with me later that day, she just seemed to laugh the background check off.”  Aubrey said before he pondered.  “She was really upset about my reaction to our conversation?”

            “Yes.  Since then, we have seen you two together enough to ascertain that she is in love with you.”

            “Who’s _‘we’_?”

            “Everyone here at the lab, Caroline, and Booth.”

            “How the hell did you figure that?”  Aubrey said, not wanting to get his hopes up.

            “She becomes unusually giddy and happy after you visit the Jeffersonian.  Haven’t you noticed she talks louder on the podium when you walk in or she’s always the one to swipe you up, even when she’s on the other side?  She obviously wants you to notice her.”

            “Of course I notice her.  Who wouldn’t?”  Aubrey said while wiping his face.  “She’s beautiful, Doctor B.  Stunning…gorgeous…”

            “I agree that she possesses attributes that one would find appealing, particularly her red hair and green eyes.  Only one to two percent of the world’s population have that combination of hair and eye color.”

            “Not just that, Doctor B!  She’s also kind, warm, generous, and has this way of getting you to loosen up and have fun.  She also accepts people on their own merits, is very loyal, but is not afraid to speak her mind.  Honesty is very important to me, even if I hate the results.”  He said smiling before it faded. 

            He looked up and saw Brennan listening.  “That night I did the news conference…the one before we arrested those teenagers?  When I finally got home, Jessica was waiting for me on my stoop.  Before I could even say _‘hello’_ , she ripped me a new one six ways from Sunday, telling me about how scared she was that I was going to die on the table, when she saw how pale I was after surgery, and about she stayed all night while I slept until a nurse kicked her out.”

            He chuckled to himself.  “She finished with calling me an inconsiderate, arrogant ass for not taking her feelings into consideration when I made myself the bait to catch the bombers.  After I had apologized, we watched a movie together, but she wouldn’t let me kiss her for three very long days.”

            Brennan was happy that she interpreted the evidence correctly so far.  “Didn’t she stay the night with you and two nights after that to monitor you as a condition for not being re-admitted into the hospital?”

            Aubrey nodded.  “She was supposed to go see _The Airborne Toxic Event_ that weekend in Hagerstown with Wendell’s girlfriend Andie and another friend, but she gave her ticket to Daisy so it wouldn’t be wasted.  It’s one of her favorite groups.”

            “Once, I canceled a date to stay with Booth in the hospital after he got hurt from a bomb in my refrigerator.  We watched _The Grapes of Wrath_ together.”

            “Bomb in the fridge?  All that food….” The agent lamented in sadness.

            “Aubrey, I think what was in my refrigerator was not important in the scheme of things.”

            Realizing what he said, he changed tactics.  “I bet that’s an interesting story, Doctor B.”  Aubrey said, never ceasing to be fascinated by the history of Booth and Brennan.

            “For another time, perhaps.  Back to the subject at hand, I think it was very nice of her to give up a concert to be with you in your time of need.”

            “It is, isn’t it?”  Aubrey responded in a sad tone.

            “It sounds like she a good friend to have, Aubrey.”

            The agent smiled.  “She’s my best friend, Doctor B.”

            “But you are obviously more than that to each other.  Why did you get insecure and leave today?”  Brennan asked.

            Aubrey squirmed, feeling foolish for his attitude earlier.  “When I saw her talking with Doctor Fuentes today…never mind.”

            “Never mind what, Aubrey?” Brennan asked

            “It’s stupid and shallow, Doctor B.”  Aubrey said as he stood up and walked around.  “Forget about it.”

            Brennan stood up.  “Booth told me once that feelings are never stupid and shallow if they’re honest, Aubrey.  Now what did you want to say?”

            Aubrey closed his eyes for a moment, trying to come up with the right words.  “I know the guy…I know he has a girlfriend…I know they just work together, but when I saw Jessica with… _that Cuban_ , it made me afraid.”

 _‘Please let me get this right._ ’ Brennan said to herself.  “Afraid of what, Aubrey?”

            The agent stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked around the room gathering his thoughts.  “She’s all I think about, Doctor B.  I’ve never felt this way before.  But…once it’s…out there…”

            “What, Aubrey?”

            “You know…”

            “No, Agent Aubrey, I don’t.” Brennan said.

            Aubrey hesitated for a moment.  “How I feel about her.”

            “How do you feel about her Aubrey?”

            “She’s…I…Jess is everything to me…” 

            Brennan smiled at her progress, but her celebration was short lived as Aubrey continued to speak.

            “…but it’s times like earlier when I saw her with Rodolfo that I think to myself that if we don’t push things further, everything will be safe, unlike the mess my father left my mother in.  A part of her died the day he left us.”

            Brennan’s blood ran cold as she took the words in.  “Aubrey, do you think Jessica is like your father?”

            The agent’s back shot up straight.  “No!  Of course not.  My father was an asshole.  Jessica is not him.  Not even close!”

            Brennan was taken aback by the man’s vehement reaction and afraid she pushed too far.  “I’m sorry, Aubrey.”

            The younger man felt guilty for yelling at the anthropologist.  “No, I’m sorry Doctor B.”

            Brennan thought for a minute before coming to a realization.  “Do you think you two will be like your parents, Aubrey?”  Brennan asked.

            Brennan realized she hit the screw on the head when the younger man stiffened in response before turning around and staring at her wall.  After an uncomfortable minute of silence, Aubrey responded.

            “I have days where I think that maybe we can go the distance, like you and Booth.  However, I think about things like…”  Aubrey turned around and gestured with his palms up, “…am I being fair to her?”

            “I don’t know what that means.”  Brennan asked.

            “I’m not going to lie.  There have been other women in my life, but no one serious enough for me to want to...I mean…she’s not the girl I pictured spending my life with.  She’s so…she’s a…free spirit, you know.”

            Brennan merely watched as he continued to speak.

            “She’s a child prodigy who went to college 1500 miles away from home when she was fifteen years old, spent a summer as a groupie on the road with Phish, and traveled to different excavation sites all over to study bones…really cool stuff.”

            Aubrey turned back to her. “What have I done?  Oh yeah, because I was snooping where I shouldn’t, I helped bring down my bastard father for securities fraud, who then skipped bail and left us holding the bag.  My mom and I had to struggle so I could go to Syracuse because we couldn’t afford for me to go out of state, even with my 3.6 GPA and scholarships.  I created a ten year plan in which I joined the FBI after finishing law school with a plan to run for Congress by 2020.” 

            “Aubrey, under the circumstances, you’ve done very well for yourself.”

            “But Doctor B, I have to wonder if in the future I will suffocate her?  What if she finds someone who is less arrogant or less of a commitment phobe?  Do I ever second guess her like my dad did my mom?  What if she begins to resent me for making her settle down?  I mean, I know she’s had men in her life, too…men more into stuff like bones and more cultured with cool stories to tell other than what kind of perp he caught today or what new food he got to try.”

            Aubrey inhaled.  “What if we…fail?  It could kill our friendship.  I’m scared of that more than anything because…I won’t lose just her, but me as well.  While I feel way more than friendship with her, at the same time, I know that if at least we’re still best friends, we’re guaranteed to always be together, right?”

            Brennan was feeling a sense a déjà vu at the agent’s last words.  She wanted to push it aside, but knew she couldn’t.  She couldn’t stop it the first time, but maybe something good could come of it this time around.  Collecting her thoughts on how much she wanted to tell, she spoke up.

            “No, Aubrey, you’re not.  In fact, it could drive you further apart.”

            Aubrey sat shocked at the woman’s words.  “What?”

            Brennan closed her eyes for a second as she prepared to relive a part of her life she thought had been buried.

            “You will lose more than her, Aubrey.  You’ll lose out on a life that is rewarding, frustrating, beautiful, annoying, and full.  I spent twenty years of my life scared of love because I was afraid to be left behind…to lose a part of myself.  Several years ago, Booth finally got the courage to reveal his feelings for me and his wish for us to be together as a couple.  Instead of being open to the possibility, I pushed him away, telling him he needed protection from me because I was so scared to lose him entirely after I inevitably hurt him too much.”

            Brennan leaned back in her chair.  “We were still partners, including coming with me to my fifteen year class reunion to help solve a case.  He even danced with me on the dance floor….”

            Aubrey saw the forensic anthropologist drift away for a moment.  He smiled as he pictured the two together, but he was interrupted by her next words.

            “We were still friends, but…something had changed.  Over the next few months, a rift seemed to develop between us except when we were working a case.”

            Brennan looked at the younger agent.  “Later that summer, we each had opportunities to work on the other side of the world for a year.  I was accepted along with Ms. Wick to go to the Maluku Islands to participate in study of a group of hominids and Booth was asked by the Secretary of Defense to assist in training soldiers in Afghanistan against insurgents.  If we were asked now, we both would turn the offers down.  At that time, though…we were both conflicted with our cases…our lives...us.  So we both left, promising to meet in one year at the Reflecting Pool.”

            “I’m assuming that you two burned up the phone lines, letters, or whatever. “ Aubrey said, not knowing the pain the couple went through.

            Brennan grimaced.  “No, we didn’t communicate for seven months.  I wrote letters, but never mailed them.”

            “Why?”  Aubrey asked.  He couldn’t imagine not talking to Jessica if they were in the same boat.

            “Because…I think at first, I needed to get away from everything that I had seen, the Gravedigger, our cases, but most of all, Booth.  The time I was at the Maluku Islands was not what I had expected because while I was excited to be part of a new possibly discovery in the evolutionary cycle, I found myself missing Booth getting me Thai food so we could work on our paperwork for our cases, having a drink at Founding Fathers after a conclusion of our case, or eating stale donuts at the lab.”

            Brennan looked the younger man in the eye.  “I realized that I missed HIM, Aubrey and I had made a mistake in not at least discussing our future together.  I didn’t know if I was strong enough to take the risk of being together, but we should have worked on our fears as a team.  I had decided that when we met up on our returns to DC that we would talk about our future together, either as friends only or more.”

            Brennan grabbed her coffee and grimaced when it was cold before putting it down.  “We were called back as well as Hodgins and Angela who were in Paris because Cam was having difficulties with a case the lab had and it closed.  I was excited to see Booth and he seemed to be excited to see me.  After the case and another one we discovered with the first were resolved, we talked.”

            “You then got together, right?”  Aubrey asked with confidence.

            “No.  Booth was my best friend, but when we returned, we didn’t connect like we did.  There was no one to take me home from the lab when I stayed too late...no one to have midnight Thai dinners with…I hurt him deeply, Aubrey and he seemed to want to move on with his life.”

            The agent could only stare at Brennan, trying to reconcile the loving, in sync couple with the one the anthropologist was talking about.  “So what happened?”

            “Hannah Burley happened.  I was too late.”

            “Wait, the Hannah Burley on NBC News?”

            Brennan looked him in the eye.  “Yes, that Hannah Burley.  Do you know another Hannah Burley because that is a major coincidence?”

            Aubrey started to speak before stopping himself.  “It’s not important.  So how does she fit into all this?”

            “If you remember from Sweets’ book, she is the reporter Booth met in Afghanistan who followed him back here by taking an assignment to follow the President.”

            “Wow.”  Aubrey said.  He knew that Booth was involved with a reporter overseas, but the look on Doctor B’s face told him that it was more than a fling.

            Brennan debated how much to tell and decided to tell as much as she felt comfortable minus a few details. 

            “He spent even less time with me after she moved in with him at his apartment and we were drifting apart.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed his friendship until I didn’t have it.”

            “They were that serious?”  Aubrey asked.  “I just can’t imagine Booth looking at another woman the way he always looks at you.”

            “Thank you, Aubrey.”  Brennan said with a smile before continuing.  “But according to Booth, they were as serious as a heart attack and Parker liked her.  I was sad about our friendship, but his happiness mattered more than my own, so I befriended Hannah because I knew Booth would want that.”

            “You’re a much better person than I am, Doctor B.”  Aubrey replied in a dry tone, knowing that there was no way in hell he could be friends with any man dating Jessica, not even if it made the redhead happy.

            “I did it because I was in love with him.  I know that now, Aubrey, but…I couldn’t see it at the time.  As their union progressed, I told her that he would put everything into their relationship.  I hoped by advising Hannah, she could give him what I obviously couldn’t, which was a monogamous relationship with an eventual marriage and a family.”

            Brennan ignored the perplexed face of Aubrey to continue.  “A few days before February 14th, he and Sweets in a drunken pique decided to propose to Hannah and Daisy.  Sweets changed his mind at the jewelry store, but Booth got an ostentatious ring.   He asked her to marry him by the Reflecting Pool, but she said no, telling him she wasn’t the marrying kind.” 

            “Ouch.” Aubrey said, the only thing he could say to the last reveal.  “So, what happened?”

            “I didn’t know he was going to propose to Hannah until she called me that night.  After she told me what happened, I found Booth at Founding Fathers getting inebriated.  He was so angry…at Rebecca, Hannah…me for turning him down.  He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t good enough to have love in his life.  He gave me the choice to both be his partner and drink with him or he would find me a new partner.”

            “You chose to chug the booze so you would stay together.”  Aubrey concluded.

            “Yes.  Valentine’s Day came along and while I kept getting calls from men wanting a last minute date with sexual intercourse, Booth declared to everyone that the day was just for greeting cards to make money, which I agreed with.  Since the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was the same day, I borrowed the rifles from the Roaring Twenties exhibit here at the museum and gave him a night of shooting targets at the FBI range.”

            Brennan laughed.  “He smiled in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.  That day, he didn’t need romance…he needed a way to work through his anger.  Now, it’s one of the things we do every year…albeit in different areas with different weapons, obviously along with…other things.”

            “Shooting targets on a day for lovers…I can’t think of a better way to express how you feel about someone.”  Aubrey said before he realized there was obviously more.  “Sorry Doctor B, go ahead.”

            “Booth was angry for a while, but slowly, we began to talk again.  Eventually, we had to talk about our future, but there was always a reason to put it off.”

            There was a moment of silence and without an end in sight, Aubrey jumped in.  “When did it happen?”

            Brennan chuckled for a moment.  “During a brutal blizzard in March, Booth saw some chairs from the Veterans Stadium from Philadelphia outside the diner.  Sweets, Booth, and I got them, or more forced them into the elevator, but they got stuck, as did Booth and I when the power went out due to the storm.  Of course, during this stereotypical event, Sweets’ insistence that we talk came to be.”

            “So, you talked…”  Aubrey asked.

            “Not at that time.  While we were trapped, we worked a murder case that involved human trafficking without electrical equipment at the lab.  When we realized there was a possible epidemic of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, we broke the chairs and ran out in the snow until we found where the murderer was hiding the Albanian women.  Booth arrested the man who killed the victim, but not before he fell on him.”  Brennan said laughing before composing herself.

            “Of course, it wasn’t funny Booth was exposed, so after we got the stadium seats into his apartment, make popcorn, and he took his antiretroviral medication, we talked about getting his inner peace and me becoming strong instead of impervious.”

            Aubrey was slightly confused, but knew that Brennan was trying to tell him something.  “I’m sorry, Doctor B, I’m confused.  What does that all mean?”

            “We decided that we wanted to be together, but neither of us were ready until we each settled our own issues.  After that, things came together and it was like before the night I rejected him.  Then Vincent Nigel-Murray died.”

            “Vincent Nigel Murray?  Why do I know that name?” Aubrey asked.

            Knowing she let the worm out of the bag, Brennan decided to fill him in.  “You’ve probably seen it on the plaque outside the entrance or when you read Booth’s file.  My husband always called him the _‘English Squintern.”_

Aubrey saw the unshed tears in her eyes and remembered the details and the case in question.  “Jacob Broadsky.  Doctor B, let me apologize for being an ass for making you remember something that still obviously upsets you.”

“I’m fine, Aubrey, but I digress as he’s part of what I’m trying to tell you so you understand what finally pushed Booth and I to get past our fears.” 

            Brennan proceeded to tell Aubrey about the man and his reign of terror, including the night he sat in wait for Booth in his apartment.  When she ended at Broadsky’s arrest, Aubrey was stunned while the anthropologist was drained.

            “So because this kid got murdered, you and Booth finally got together?”

            “If Booth was the one who held the phone instead of Vincent, Jacob Broadsky would have killed him and I would have died, too because I never truly told him how much I loved him.  It was his death that forced us to be truly honest with one another about how we felt…and finding out six weeks later I was pregnant with Christine.”

            Aubrey’s eyes bugged out as he processed the last bit of information.  “So the mini-Booth came to be from all this, too?”

            Brennan rolled her eyes.  “Of course, Aubrey.  If you do the math, Christine was born nine months after Vincent Nigel-Murray’s death.  Hodgins and Angela named their son after him, too.”

             “Wow…I knew that you two had to deal with a lot, but I had no idea…”  Aubrey said.  “No wonder Agent Andy didn’t score until the third book.”  He muttered.

            “True, but, in that book, Andy and Kathy had waited until it was almost too late, too.”

            Aubrey realized what he said.  “Oh, sorry.”

            “I understand, Aubrey.  So, after all I’ve told you, have I given you some guidance on what you should do about your relationship with Jessica?”

            Aubrey bit his lip as he contemplated.  He was in awe of not just his mentor and his wife, but everyone he had come to know from his association with the Jeffersonian.  He was not only becoming a better agent thanks to working with Booth, but also able to part of a group that took care of each other, something that had been missing from his life for a few years.

            It was this place that led him to meet Jessica…the first and the only woman he knew he would ever love.  Yes, they were opposites in many ways, but they complemented each other.  They were alike in many ways, too, finding a kindred soul in the other with their love of cult movies, plays, sci-fi television, and in love.

            The genius, free-spirit redhead was his best friend.  There was only one thing he could do.

            “I’m going to do it, Doctor B.  I’m going to tell her how I feel as soon as I see her.”  Aubrey said with confidence as he got up.

           

 

 


	4. The Amalgamation of Wisdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay folks, I lied. This will be five chapters. I realized I skipped an integral part of the story, so this chapter is it. Enjoy in anticipation of the epilogue.

 

_“I’m going to do it, Doctor B.  I’m going to tell her how I feel as soon as I see her.”  Aubrey said with confidence as he got up._

* * *

 

            Brennan looked to the entrance from her office and pointed.  “Well, now’s a good time.”

            Aubrey turned and saw Jessica walk in the lab with Booth.  He ran out the door like he was on fire until he reached the redhead, almost knocking her over in the process.

            “Geez, Aubrey, watch it!”  Booth yelled as he caught her fall.

            “Sorry!  Jess, I need to talk to you.”  Aubrey panted.

            “I need to talk to you, too.”  Jessica said in an excited tone.  “Ummm, how about some dinner?” 

            “Happy Hour at Founding Fathers?  Meatball sliders, shrimp, beers, the works.”  Aubrey said in a knowing tone.

            Jessica smiled in realization.  “Pounding meatball sliders on a date, huh?”

            “Of course.”  Aubrey said.  “While you steal shrimp from my plate.”

            “You’re on, Superman.  Let’s go.”

            Booth and Brennan watched the younger couple walk out.  “I think we did a good job today, Bones.” Booth said before kissing his wife.

            “We did.”  She replied.  “Thank you for trusting me to help Aubrey.”

            “You’re welcome, Bones, but all I did was I listened to my gut.”  Booth said with a smile.

            “Booth, your digestive system doesn’t tell you what to do.”  Brennan said.

            “Says you.” Booth said before giving her a kiss.  “Now, lets get our kids and go home, shall we?”

            “Sounds good.  After we put Christine and Hank to bed, maybe you can tell me what you said to Ms. Warren.”

            “After that, you can tell me what you said to Aubrey to make him move like that!”  Booth replied.

* * *

            Aubrey and Jessica were at Founding Fathers at a table surrounded by food smiling at each other or check the other out when he or she wasn’t looking.  Each were plotting in their heads the perfect way to say how they felt about the other, feeling the right setting was required.

            _‘I know…I’ll take her to the Jeffersonian courtyard.  It’s beautiful there…no wait, it’s too cold.’_ Aubrey thought to himself. _‘The Indonesian restaurant?  Crap! I can’t because they’re closed tonight.  Damn, this always look easy on TV.  I probably can’t think because of my low blood sugar.  I should eat.’_

            Jessica looked at Aubrey lost in thought while pounding down a potato skin.  _‘I know where I can take him…the Lincoln Memorial!  The view is awesome!_ ’  Jessica thought before she remembered. _‘No, I can’t go there.  He knows about when I had to pee there from the UTI.  Not very romantic.  I’ve never had to do this shit before.  Ugh….’_

            While the agent grabbed a meatball slider and savored the first bite with a groan, Jessica stole a shrimp from his plate, noting the smile she got from him as she finished the shellfish.  Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Booth was right.  I am the only one you allow to take food from your plate.”   

            “Of course.  You enjoy food as much as I do.”  Aubrey said, still trying to come up with the words he wanted to say to the woman across from him.

            Getting her courage up, she pressed.  “You’re full of it, James Aubrey.  Why do you allow me to eat your food, but anyone else you have a fit?  Don’t deny it.  I remember that when Booth tried to steal one of your puddings when you were in the hospital you almost stabbed him with a fork, but you let me have it.  Why is that, Agent Aubrey?”

            Aubrey had a smart comeback ready, but decided he didn’t want to say it.  He wanted to tell her in a more intimate setting, rather than over beer and bar food, but he couldn’t wait anymore.

            “Because I love you.”

            The shrimp Jessica was about to eat stopped halfway to her mouth as she contemplated what Aubrey said.  She knew the words were coming, but she wasn’t prepared to hear those words over shrimp, potato skins, and meatball sliders.

            _‘Oh hell, it’s not like we’re a typical couple anyway.  Why start now?’_   She thought.

            Putting the food back on her plate, she smiled at him.  “I love you, too Superman.”

            Aubrey’s eyes bulged in shock, but he didn’t understand why.  Doctor B told him she loved him, so he should be elated.  He took a deep breath to calm himself before he asked one question.

            “How?”

            The redhead looked at him confused.  She just told the man she loved him and he replied with that?

            “I just expressed my feelings for you in response to yours and your response is _‘How?_ ’  What the fuck kind of question is that, Aubrey?”  Jessica said with her green eyes turning a brighter hue.

            “It’s a legitimate question.”  Aubrey said, cursing himself for his insecurity.

            “Fine.  I’ll answer your question.”  Jessica said before throwing her napkin down, her temper piqued.  “I’m in love with you, something that I’ve never felt in my life with any other person.  I have days when I see a story or anything, whether it is on television or an article I read, the first thing that comes to my mind is _‘I can’t wait to tell Aubrey._ ’”

            Before the agent could speak up, she continued.  “I have days where the hours just don’t go by fast enough because I have plans with you that I want to get to.  I’m always getting excited on Thursdays because it’s one day closer for us to hang out on the weekend and watch television or play Xbox together while we eat Doritos and drink beer.”

            She inhaled before continuing.  “My bedroom is almost constantly in a mess because I take hours to find the perfect outfit to wear to work in the off chance I get to run into you.  The weekends are worse because we’ll be alone together and I want to look hot down to my bra and panties in case you jump me.  Most of all, I have days when all I can think about is how awesome it would feel to have your naked body against mine because I know that sex with you is going to be mind blowing.” 

            The two sat at the table, staring at each other in silence as Jessica’s words sunk in.  Then Aubrey responded in an unexpected way.

            “Holy crap…so it wasn’t just me.”  He said before he started laughing.

            Jessica looked at Aubrey like he was nuts.  “What is so funny?”

            “This…us…me.”  He sputtered in between laughs.

            “This…us…me…what?”  Jessica asked gesturing between the two of them.

            Aubrey managed to calm himself down. “I’ve been so scared to tell you how I felt but…oh my God…”

            Jessica realized what he was saying and began laughing with him.  “We were turning into Agent Booth and Doctor B.”

            Aubrey felt a weight off his shoulder.  “Yeah!”

            “Superman, I was so afraid after you almost died a couple of months ago.  I was afraid of that if I lost you for good, that a part of me would die, too.  Then your stupid ass went on TV, daring those teenage shits to track you down as bait…”

            Aubrey could do nothing but stare as he listened to Jessica.

            “That’s why I was so damn mad at you that night of the conference.  The thought that my feelings about your wellbeing were nothing to you kept going through my mind as I watched you on TV…that you could make me feel that….scared.  I’ve never felt that way before and I hated it…I hated that you were so careless…”

            Aubrey took her hand and caressed it as he spoke from the heart.  “I’m so sorry.  I was just so pissed about what happened to Hodgins, me, and those four dead cops.  I knew that if I didn’t do it that Booth would…and he’d been through enough.  Also, I guess I thought that maybe I wasn’t that much to miss by you…that maybe you had better prospects than a sci-fi gamer dork FBI agent.”

            “And the fact that I ate pigeon didn’t give you a clue as to how I felt about you?”  Jessica replied.  “Or the fact that I asked you out for dinner after our first true case together even after I smacked down your attempts to flirt with me over Superman and sex in an attic?”

            Aubrey gave her a sarcastic look.  “And the fact that I let you eat my food didn’t tell you?  Or the fact that I brought you smelly catnip tea when I had to talk to you about your background check?”

            “I thought we were forgetting that conversation ever happened, James Aubrey.”  Jessica said with a slight grin.

            “What conversation?” 

            Both laughed for a minute before they got serious again.  “Aubrey, Booth told me about what he and Doctor B dealt with to be together.  I-I don’t want it to be that way for us.”

            “Doctor B told me about them, too.  I don’t want to be that way, either, Jess.”

            “About earlier at the Jeffersonian—“ Jessica started.

            “When you were at the FBI—“  Aubrey said at the same time.

            Both laughed at the simultaneous interruption.  “You first.”  Aubrey said.

            “Age before beauty.”  Jessica replied.

            “Why I oughta….”  Aubrey said shaking his fist in a joking manner before he settled down.  “Ladies first, I insist.”

            “Okay.  I just wanted to say next time you come to the Jeffersonian, don’t go away in a huff because I’m talking to Rodolfo.  He was only showing me what some punk did while flirting with Stacey last weekend.”

            “As long as you promise me next time you see some woman trying to grope me, you will come to my rescue.”

            “Deal.”  Jessica said holding out her hand.

            “Deal.”  Aubrey said before he smiled at Jessica.

            Jessica felt a shiver ran down her back when Aubrey grinned.  She didn’t understand why the gap in his smile turned her on, but it made her feel so….frisky.

            Aubrey saw Jessica’s eyes turn into a deeper green before her cheeks got flushed.  Suddenly, his pants tightened and it was getting harder not to notice the peek of a black strap showing from under Jessica’s shoulder of her black, white, and blue striped jersey dress.

            “Aubrey…”

            “Jessica…”

            “If you look outside, the wind and snow is really blowing out.”  Jessica stammered as she reached around to put her black sweater on, making the agent in front of her sad.

            Aubrey turned his head and saw winter pulsating outside the window before turning his head back to the woman in front of him.  “It looks like it may be a rough drive home for you.”

            Jessica took a moment to get her courage up to say what she wanted to say before deciding to go for broke.  _‘The worst that can happen is he says no.’_

            “Maybe since you live closer…I should stay with you tonight.”  Jessica said looking down while tracing the top of her beer bottle before looking back up at Aubrey.

            Aubrey could feel his pants tighten further and knew he couldn’t make it much longer.  There were two ways to solve his issue, but only one appealed to him.  He turned to their waitress nearby. 

           “Check, please.”

* * *

            Fifteen minutes later, Jessica and Aubrey crashed into his apartment kissing with their hands all over each other.  He kicked the door closed and locked it before pushing Jessica into it.  After hastily whipping off their winter coats and tossing them to the floor, his lips made a meal out of her neck and collarbone while Jessica’s hands were busy caressing his back and hair.  In rapid succession, Aubrey’s suit jacket went to the floor.  Jessica’s hands started to hungrily move over his back before she hit something important.

            “Aubrey, your gun.”  Jessica whispered hastily.

            “Shit.”  He moaned before looking at her.  “Don’t move.”

            Jessica watched as he ran to his bedroom.  Thirty seconds later, he ran back and pushed her against the door again.  When her left leg rubbed against his right, Aubrey grabbed it and hoisted it to his hip while the two made quick removal of her cardigan sweater and his tie.  To her delight, she felt the FBI agent shudder when her hand moved up to his earlobe.  When his lips found a sensitive spot on her neck, it was her turn to shiver.

            Aubrey’s senses were reeling as his lips and tongue caressed the silk of Jessica’s skin while she quickly pulled his shirt out of his pants and hastily unbuttoned it.   To the agent’s frustration, he was stymied in his pursuits by his partner’s attire.  His hands moved all over to find a zipper on her dress.

              “Just lift the damn thing up, Aubrey.”  Jessica panted. 

            “Thank God.”  Aubrey muttered into her chest.  Moving both hands to the hem, he quickly removed her dress with Jessica’s help, leaving her in a black full slip with a built in bra along with her lingerie and heels.  When he looked up, he saw that her perfect ponytail was now mussed and she was flushed from her cheeks to her top of her breasts.

            Aubrey felt Jessica start to remove his shirt so he assisted her in pulling off the offending garment before letting his hands roam over her body as hers was doing the same thing.

            “You feel good enough to take a bite out of, Superman.”  Jessica muttered as she nibbled on his earlobe and caressed his hot skin, receiving a groan in return from the lanky man.

            “I do, huh?  You feel fantastic, just like I knew you would be.”  Aubrey huffed out before his hands moved to her breasts and played with them as he kissed a sensitive spot on her neck.

            “Oooooohhh….” Jessica groaned to Aubrey’s machinations.

            As for the agent, he was fascinated by how quickly her nipples hardened like diamonds to his touch.  The more he touched, the more Jessica’s body reacted by pressing up to his.  Needing more, he pulled the left strap down and began connecting the freckles on her shoulder and arm with his tongue. 

            Jessica felt her body go into autopilot as her pelvic area grinded against Aubrey while his lips and tongue mapped her skin.  Suddenly, she felt his hand under her ass before he began to lift her up.  Following instinct, she wrapped her legs around his waist before they began to move against the door together.

            “Look at me, Jessica.”

            As soon as she opened her eyes, Aubrey’s hand moved under the top of the slip to her bare breast, sending shock waves through her.  Never had a man drove her this mad with just a touch of his hand.  About to lose her mind, her eyes began to close in pleasure when she was interrupted.

            “Open your eyes, Jessica.”  Aubrey said in a gruff voice. 

            As soon as she opened them, the man became mesmerized by the brightness of her green irises rapidly disappearing until her eyes were almost black.  Satisfied to see the passion, he pulled the left cup down and tasted one of the things until now he could only enjoy in his dreams.

            “Oooohhh, Superman, don’t stop.”  Jessica groaned as one arm held her around him while the other kept his head in place.

            Encouraged, the gentle touch of his tongue turned into his mouth taking the nipple and surrounding breast into his mouth and suckled, enjoying the flavor of Jessica.  He felt the heels of her shoes digging into his back, but he didn’t care.  Then he felt a wetness on his abdomen and he remembered two things she told him.  Forcing himself as a gentleman to control himself, he held on long enough to speak his thoughts.         

            “I want all of you, Jessica.  I want to feel everything, but if you are unsure, I have protection.” He said shakily in between kisses on her breast.

            Jessica’s mind was a fog of hormones, but she knew what he was asking of her.  A month ago, she told him that she went on the Pill a week after their date at the Indonesian restaurant back in November and she was very diligent about taking her daily dose on time every day.  That same conversation she also confided that she never had sex without a condom, which was something that he had confessed to her also.

            She knew he would never put her in danger, but the trust he had in her was the clincher.  “I want to feel all of you, too Aubrey.  I trust you.”

            Her last three words did him in _.  ‘I trust you.’_

Grabbing her tightly, one of her shoes fell off before he carried her into his bedroom while she traced her tongue onto his lips for entry, which he granted.  When they got to the end of the bed, he sat and laid down, pulling her on top of him before they scooted up to the pillows.

            “I should probably get rid of this.”  Jessica whispered before taking off her other shoe and tossing it to the side, landing on the floor with a thump, followed by a high pitched meow.

             “Oh shit!  Sorry Skinner.”  The redhead said as she observed an orange cat running out of the bedroom while the two laughed.

            Their moment of levity ended as Aubrey took full advantage of his nearness to Jessica by caressing her legs up past the hem of the slip and onto her ass on top of her panties.  Feeling her undo his belt, he flipped them over and assisted in pulling off his suit pants and tossing them aside, leaving him in only his boxers.  Pulling the strap off her right shoulder, he made a trail with his lips down her arm before feasting onto her other breast while her hands caressed his back and neck.

            One day, he would leave the slip on as it was hot as hell, but tonight, he only wanted Jessica. 

            Suddenly, he spun them around again before he sat them up so she was on his lap.  He finished pulling the straps down until they draped by her elbows, which led her to pull her arms out and the garment falling to her waist.  Aubrey was stunned by the beauty in front of him.

            “You are…stunning, Jessica.”  He said as his right hand made its way up to her breast. Seeing her tip her head back and her moans drove him to action as he kissed her deeply, his tongue seeking hers.  When they found each other, they held on until there was no light between them as their hands explored the other’s body.

            Aubrey groaned when Jessica began nibbling on his neck again with a trail leading up to his earlobe while her other hand caressed his scars from the bombing on his back.   Moving to her hair, he found the rubber band holding her hair back and pulled gently, revealing a long curtain of auburn hair.  He couldn’t stop himself from running his hand through it while his bed mate continued trailing his neck and lips with kisses.  However, after a few minutes of exquisite torture, the agent took matters into his own hands by pulling them down before flipping them over in a rush.

            “Wow, Agent Aubrey.  I love the way you take charge.”  Jessica said in between breaths.

            “You’ve seen nothing yet, Ms. Warren.”  The man replied in a husky voice before pulling the slip down past her thighs and legs before getting rid of it.  Immediately, his lips connected with the silk of the skin of her abdomen as it trailed down past her belly button.  Buoyed by her body’s arching against his mouth, Aubrey continued around her panties and connected with her hips and thighs where he felt her shiver.

            “Ohhhh…ohhhh.” Jessica moaned, her thought processes at a standstill.

            Aubrey looked up and saw Jessica writhing on his bed, her red hair spread out on the brown pillow spread, illuminated by the moonlight not blocked by the flurries outside. The loud wind pounding outside competed with their moans as his hands pulled her underwear down slowly past her hips and thighs before tossing them aside.

            Then he saw her for the first time…all of her.  The smooth alabaster skin, long legs, perfect handful breasts, her curves, and her long neck.  All of it was now for his pleasure alone and he planned on fully enjoying it.

            But now, there was one more area of Jessica he dreamt of exploring for a long time and there was nothing stopping him.

            As for Jessica, she was coming down from her high when she didn’t feel Aubrey on her.  She was about to inquire she felt his tongue making a trail around her knee and inner thigh.  Unconsciously, she bent her knees up and spread her legs, but when she felt him, it was an explosion like nothing she had ever experienced before.  His lips and tongue explored all of her womanhood, relentless in its pursuits.  She couldn’t keep still as her body thrusted towards him as she held his head in place.

            “More, Aubrey…oh God, more please!”  She yelled out.

            Aubrey was more than happy to oblige the woman as her taste was driving him mad as well as her reaction.  Reaching around her bent legs, he held her down with one arm while the other reached up and found her breast.

            Jessica felt the dual sensations and lost herself in them.  No other man had brought such intense…shocks to her system in the eight years she had been sexually active…not even close.  Suddenly, a familiar feeling was coming closer.

            “Oh…Aubrey…I’m…going to…come.”

            Hearing that only drove the man further as her moans growing louder indicated to him she wasn’t going to last much longer.  Then, he heard it.

            “JAMES!” Jessica yelled before her orgasm escaped her body.

            Aubrey licked and kissed her thighs before he made a trail back up towards her face.  When he got to her lips, his erection was hard to the point of pain.  “Jessica, I need to make love to you now.  Please let me.”  He whispered in between kisses to her lips, neck, and collarbone.

            “Yes.”  Jessica said in between breaths.

            Together, they pulled his boxers off him.  His right hand took her left and clasped it before lying them above her head.  As he looked into her eyes, he plunged and felt her for the first time.

            “Son of a bitch, Jessica!  You feel…wow.”  He groaned before he began to move.

            Jessica could only moan as the sensations of no barrier sent intense pleasure throughout her body.  Sex was pleasurable, but never with another man could she surrender herself as she was now.  As she felt his wet kisses on her neck with his movements, her pelvis tilted slightly, causing Aubrey to hit something that caused a sensation she never had before.

            “Holy shit, Aubrey!  Don’t stop!”  She yelled before moaning as her other hand made a trail up and down his back before finding his muscular ass.  He may be considered scrawny, but the man was all muscle and she was grateful that she was the lucky girl to enjoy Special Agent James Aubrey's toned body.

            Aubrey could only do as the feeling of Jessica’s walls made him insane.  He had always wondered how it would feel without a condom, but never risked it.  However, with Jessica, he knew she was safe, and that he was safe enough with her to let himself go.

            When Jessica’s leg looped around his waist, Aubrey felt himself go deeper and the two mutually moaned as they joined together at a comfortable pace before slowly gaining speed.  He couldn’t help himself as his head went to her neck, where his lips kissed her before he had to stop as the sensations overrode him, leading to moaning and groaning with each thrust

            Jessica’s arm looped around his neck and her other let go of his hand to find his ass once again as she helped drive the speed as it increased in depth and number.  She felt his right arm lay next to her head as his left found a way underneath her to pull her closer.

            Aubrey then felt a familiar tingle in his spine as he felt Jessica’s walls pulsate around him.  Knowing neither would last much longer, he increased his thrusts deeper as he felt her body arch further.  Then, it came.

            “JAMES!”  She yelled again, her liquid heat surrounding him.

            Something about hearing his first name did something to him as after two more thrusts, he growled as his pulsated the rest of him in her, his seed comingling with her warmth.  When done, he collapsed on top of her with his head into her neck before he kissed whatever skin was available.

            “Superman, that was….I…holy shit.”  Jessica said in between breaths.

            “Right back at you, Bone Girl.”  He muttered as he laid in exhaustion on top of her before he lifted his head and pulled her with him as he laid on his back with the redhead on his chest.  After a few moments of quiet contentment, Jessica spoke up.

            “Aubrey?”

            “Hmm?”  He hummed as his hand moved up and down her naked back.

            “I’m hungry.”  She said before giggling.  “We didn’t get through half of our happy hour food.”

            “Plus the two half full bottles of beer we left behind.  Alcohol abuse is a no no usually, but I think tonight was an acceptable exception.”

            “Very acceptable exception.”  Jessica said while tracing her finger on Aubrey’s chest.  “Do you still have that queso and veggies?  I could go for the famous Aubrey nachos.”

            “I do and cold pizza as well.”

            “I’m all over that.”  Jessica laughed before jumping out of bed giggling.  “Hurry up, lazy ass.  I want some nachos!”  She yelled before grabbing a shirt from a basket of clean clothes and putting it on.

            “Jess!  Don’t you want your—“  He said holding up her black silk panties.

            “Don’t need them, Superman.  They’re just going to come off again anyways.” She said before running out of the room.

            “God I love her!”  Aubrey said as he quickly found his boxer shorts and put them on.  Finding another shirt, he slipped it on as he left the bedroom to join her.

* * *

            Thirty minutes later, the two were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen island with two open bottles of Yeungling as they feasted off a joint smorgasbord of cheesy nachos with olives and tomatoes, Nacho Cheese Doritos, and cold pizza.

            “Oh, so good.”  Jessica said with a full mouth as she ate another gooey nacho.

            “Food is such as beautiful thing.”  Aubrey said while munching on cold pizza from DiAngelo’s.

            Jessica took a drink of her beer and asked something she had been contemplating for the last twenty minutes.  “Aubrey, are we like Doctor B and Booth?”

            “No.”  Aubrey said while drinking a beer.

            “Why is that?”  Jessica asked.

            “Because I know that you’re careful enough that I’m not going to knock you up tonight.”  Aubrey said with a straight face before the two started to laugh.

             “I’m serious, Aubrey.  I-I don’t want either of us to freak out and run away to opposite sides of the world or you to hook up with a reporter, or—“

             “Jess, stop.”  Aubrey said, contemplating his words before taking her hand in his.  “Things aren’t always going to be easy and maybe we’ll have days we wonder whether we can go the distance.  However, remember how in Sweets’ book that Booth and Brennan’s relationship was guided by their friendship?”

            “Yeah.”  Jessica said with a smile.

            Aubrey got up and walked around the island until he was standing in front of the redhead.  “We’re going to be the same way.  You’re my best friend, Jessica.  We just decided not to be afraid anymore tonight, like how they were for years.  So, while we took a lesson from them in that, we can also take a lesson in how they solve their problems…together.”

            “I want that, too.”  Jessica said, touching Aubrey’s face with her hand.

            “Good.”  He said before his hand started to travel up her leg.  “Now that we’ve had some sustenance, I do remember you saying there was an item of clothing you weren’t going to need.”

            “Yes.”  She replied before groaning as she felt his hand travel up her inner thigh.

            “You were right.  You won’t be as they would have got in my way.”  Aubrey said before lifting up her thigh to his waist.  Instinctively, Jessica pulled her other leg around him, too after he moved his hand.

            Jessica squealed as he grasped her rear end and pulled her up, where he carried her to a nearby kitchen counter where he proceeded to start Round Two.

* * *

            It was almost nine in the morning when Aubrey sauntered onto the fourth floor with a smile and his coffee cup.  Heading to the coffee room, he saw Booth pouring a cup.  “Good morning Booth.”

            Booth turned around and noted Aubrey’s happy and familiar countenance.  “Aubrey.  Good mood I take it.”

            “Yes, Booth…a very good mood.”  The junior agent said while pouring coffee.

            “So you and Jessica…settled things last night?”  Booth asked.

             “That we did, Booth.”  Aubrey replied with a smile before drinking his coffee.   _‘Three times_ _last night and once in the shower this morning.’_

            “Well, I’m glad.”  Booth said.

            “Thanks, Booth, for what you and Doctor B. did.  I can’t thank you enough.”

            “No problem, Aubrey.  Now, let’s talk about the people we need to bring in today.”

            The two agents conversed together while the two walked to Booth’s office.

* * *

            Jessica was smiling as she examined the remains in the Bone Room.  She turned when she heard her mentor come in.

            “Ms. Warren, you found something?”

            “Yes, I found a nick on the C5 that I must have missed before, plus I see some hemorrhagic staining.”  Jessica said before she yawned.

            “Long night, Ms. Warren?”  Brennan asked.

            “Yes, Aubrey and I were up really late…talking and stuff.”

            “So, the advice we gave…helped?”  Brennan said with a knowing tone.

            “More than you can ever know.”  Jessica replied _.  “_ Thanks for helping Aubrey and me figure things out, Doctor B.  Agent Booth, too.”

            “You’re welcome, Ms. Warren.” Brennan said with a smile.  “You two must have up really late because Booth got a text around 7:00 AM from Aubrey saying he was running late and Cam said you overslept and only got here thirty minutes ago, something I never see from you.

            “It was very late.” Jessica said.   _‘Especially the third time when Aubrey woke me up in a very pleasant manner in the middle of the night.’_

            “There’s something in this nick, Ms. Warren.  Have Doctor Hodgins extract it and examine it.”

            “Yes, Ma’am.”  Jessica replied before putting the skull on a tray and walking it to the Ookey Room.

            Brennan smiled to herself before continuing her examination of the bones.                                

                


	5. The Valentine's Day Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is folks...the last chapter. I hope you've all enjoyed this story, especially Rynogeny. I have some J & A as well as B & B brewing in my head, but my BBT stories miss me, too. Don't worry...I'll be back soon with more Bones.

**FEBRUARY 14  7:30 PM**

             Booth was sitting on the bed of the Nick and Nora Charles Suite at the Inn Boonsboro tapping his foot with a bucket of champagne nearby.  “Booonnnneeeess, how much longer are you going to be?  I’m going to die if I have to wait much longer.”

             _“Booth, waiting for your wife to come out of the bathroom is not a legitimate cause of death.”_

            Booth stood up impatiently.  “It is if she’s surprising her husband with something for Valentine’s Day.”

             _“Her husband already got his Valentine’s Day gift.”_

            “Yes, he did….the pistols we used at the Frontier Games is a very, very awesome gift for that husband.  However, he is talking about the one behind the door…the naughty one.”  He said with a sneaky tone and a grin.

             _“You’ll see it soon, Booth.  Besides, I’ve already surprised you with my lingerie selections Friday and last night.  Cool your heels.”_

            “Jets.  Its jets, Bones.  Besides, as much as I loved what you chose for Friday and Saturday, tonight is Valentine’s Day, a day for lovers.  We have to go back to work tomorrow afternoon, so we need to make things count tonight.  With that in mind…please hurry, Bones.”  He begged.

            Hearing a buzz, he grabbed his phone, saw a Facebook update, and pushed the link.   When he saw the picture and announcement, he laughed.

             _“What’s so funny, Booth?”_

            “It’s Aubrey.  Apparently he changed his status on Facebook to ‘ _in a relationship._ ’”

             _“Wait, my phone is buzzing.”_   After a moment, she continued.   _“According to my Facebook, Ms. Warren has also changed her status to ‘in a relationship’.”_

            Booth continued to look at his phone.  “He also posted a selfie of them at…a cult science fiction movie marathon in Alexandria earlier today!?  Seriously?”

             _“What’s wrong with that, Booth?”_

            Booth cringed his nose.  “Bones….we get them together and that’s how they’re spending their Valentine’s Day weekend?  Watching old movies with aliens, monsters, and shit?”

             _“Why can’t they spend the holiday the way they want, Booth?  We spent our Valentine’s Day weekend in between frequent sessions of lovemaking at the private tours you arranged of the Crystal Grotto Caverns and the Boonsborough Museum of History.  Today we continued our yearly tradition of shooting Valentine’s Day hearts with the pistols I gifted to you.  After that, we spent time at the Antietam National Park where I showed you where the Union soldiers that I helped examine last month.”_

            Hearing the door open, Booth answered as he turned around.  “Well that different because—“

            Dropping the phone, he could only stand stunned for a moment as he admired his wife.  “Oh wow…uh…uh…“ 

            Brennan was in the doorway wearing a royal blue long line bustier with a hook and eye front.  The waist was cinched with a lace up back and scalloped lace.  The outfit was completed with garters holding up thigh high stockings and a matching royal blue G string.  She also had on black silk gloves.

            “Different how, Booth?”  Brennan said smirking.

            “Ummmm, I don’t remember anymore.”  Booth said as he walked in front of his wife.  “I really like this, Bones.”

            “Since you put on the selection of items I sent with Jessica to give you, and I quote,  _‘Anything with you in it or nothing at all’_ , I was forced to make a choice through all the items I had purchased.”

            “Y-you bought all that?”  Booth asked.

            “Yes, I did.”  Brennan said with a smile.  “As I was making my choices, I remembered how you favor me in the color blue, plus your enthusiastic reaction to the undergarments I got from the lingerie store while we were at the Frontier Games.  With those in mind, I chose this, the emerald green nightie item last night as well as the red chemise I had on Friday with the crotch less panties.”

            “You…chose…perfectly, Bones.  Oh yeah…”  Booth said with a large smile on his face before he surprised her by picking her up off the floor.

            “Booth!”  Brennan squealed before putting her arms around her husband’s neck.  They laughed for a moment before the moment got serious as the couple gave each other loving looks.

            “I love you, Bones.” 

            “I love you, too Booth.”

            Booth carried his wife to the bed and laid her down before joining her.   The two came together in a loving kiss before they embraced.  “I guess if those two want to watch science fiction movies during the most romantic day of the year, that’s fine.  I’d rather make love to my wife.”

            “Excellent choice, Booth.”

* * *

             “Oh…ooohhhhhhh Superman!”

            Aubrey thrust into Jessica two more times before he joined her in orgasm. “Hooollly…wow….”

            The agent collapsed on her as the two caught their breath.  Jessica combed through Aubrey’s sweaty hair as they laid on her living room floor under a blanket, their clothes strewn all over the furniture.

            “This has been…the best…Valentine’s Day ever, Aubrey.”  Jessica said out of breath.  After taking a few seconds, she continued more smoothly.  “You cooked me an awesome breakfast, we went to Alexandria for that really cool sci fi movie festival—“

            Aubrey lifted his head up.  “Yeah, sorry you got stared at by all the weirdos.  I don’t think they’re used to seeing a hottie like you at something like that.  I’m also sorry we’re not doing some expensive dinner.”

            “I don’t care about all that, Aubrey.  I am enjoying our night here a lot more than some fancy Valentine’s Day overpriced meal.  I’m glad you suggested this.”  Jessica said before tapping his shoulder.  “I need a beer.  Want one?” 

            Aubrey gave an affirmative nod before moving so Jessica could get up.  He watched as she walked naked into her kitchen, liking the view of her very attractive body as well as the tattoo on her right shoulder blade as he sat up and leaned back against the couch.  “Tonight was a very awesome idea.  Watch the classic  _Manos: Hands of Fate_  with pizza—“

            “Followed by getting naked and having mind blowing sex--“  Jessica said while opening two beers before grabbing a couple bottles of water and a bag of Doritos.

            “Then another movie with perhaps…one more round—“

            “Or two.” Jessica said with a sly grin.

            “The perfect Valentine’s Day.” Aubrey replied.

            "I have enjoyed that idea very much."  Jessica said as she came back, handing one Yeungling and water to Aubrey before putting her items next to her and dropping the chips in between them.  Settling under the covers, she moved next to him.  “Do you think Booth and Doctor B are enjoying their weekend?”

            “Well, Booth took her to a B & B near Antietam, and today they were shooting at some targets, plus no kids.  If the way they were checking each other out when she picked him up Friday was any indication, Booth is going to be a happy man tomorrow at work.”

            Jessica smiled before propping her arm onto the couch and leaning her head into her hand.  “Well, if they get to shoot guns every Valentine’s Day, then we can have a cult movie slash sex marathon every year.”

            Aubrey smiled before caressing her face.  “You see us that far in the future?”

            “I do, Superman and I've got the relationship status change ninety minutes ago on Facebook to prove it.”  Jessica said leaning into his caress.

            “So do I, Ms. Warren, someday to be Doctor Warren.”  Aubrey said in a soothing voice before switching gears.  “Okay, Jessica, what movie’s next?”

            The redhead leaned over, giving Aubrey another nice view of her rear end.  Turning around, she read the DVD.  _“Dementia 13.”_

            “Yes!  A Francis Ford Coppola classic.”  As she was giving it to him, he stopped her.  “Can you put it in?  You’re closer.”

            Jessica gave him an all-knowing look.  “You just want to check out my ass again, Aubrey, just like you just did and when I got the beer and munchies.”

            “Yeah…duh.”  He responded.

            "Nope, your turn to be a piece of meat.  Come on, Agent."

            “Oh, whatever.”  Aubrey said in mock resignation before crawling across the blanket to Jessica's appreciative eyes, when she whistled.  “Nice butt, Aubrey.”

            He did a quick wiggle, which cracked her up.  After putting the DVD in and pressing PLAY, he crawled back and got settled before the redhead sat in between his legs with her back against his chest.  Jessica reached up and turned off the light before the couple snuggled together as the opening credits began.

* * *

            “Yes!  Booth!”  Brennan yelled as she orgasmed for the third and final time while on top of Booth.

            “Ohhhhhh, Booonnnnes!”  Booth moaned while holding her hips in place as he emptied into his wife.  “Ohhhh!  Ohhhh!  Wow….”

            Brennan collapsed on her husband, deliciously spent as her husband put his arms around her and rubbed her back.  “Mmmm, I will sleep well tonight thanks to the multiple orgasms you gave me.”

            Booth smiled.  “I aim to please, ma’am.”

            They snuggled close under the blanket before Booth turned out the light.  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Bones.”

            Brennan closed her eyes and smiled onto Booth’s chest.  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Booth.”

            The couple fell asleep wrapped around each other.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in response to Quarterbreed, who left a scathing review on FF.net for the last chapter in regards to Aubrey and Jessica not using a condom for sex:
> 
> I hate the "I trust you's" in regards to not using condoms...STD's happen to nice people all the time. Couldn't they both have confessed that they had each recently had themselves retested, as they periodically do, for a full STD panel, and each therefore had medical proof that it was safe to forego the condoms? Instead of perpetuating the myth that nice people don't get STDs?  
> But
> 
> A few thoughts:
> 
> 1\. My others spicy chapters regarding them have involved some conversation regarding this topic. However, the point of this story is trust. The point was made that each of them had never engaged in sex w/o a condom, period, something that was already established between them. In essence, their first time without is with each other. While this is not 100%, it's pretty damn close.
> 
> 2\. These two are best friends, similar in the mold of Booth and Brennan. Their characters have been established enough that I feel that if one of them had any suspicions at all that they could have an STI (the current nomenclature), they would inform the other and never put that partner in danger. If either had one in the past, the other partner would have been informed before the act commenced. While it is possible that one of them could have had a hookup that happened off screen, I doubt it happened.
> 
> 3\. Yes, I know nice people get STIs. I am a certified Medical Assistant. I thought by both disclosing that they never had unprotected sex and she was on the Pill was enough to establish that they were safe. For anyone offended by this, I do apologize for that, but not for the events of Chapter 4.
> 
> 4\. Also, for anyone who feels the need to leave reviews like this, feel free as it is your right to an opinion, but have the gumption to get a FF.net username. I don't like to embarrass or call people out in public, but guest reviews like this leave me no option. If it doesn't bother you, good for you. If it does, sorry.


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